After leaving Birchbox last year, Barna is diving into the VC world. She explains why and offers a look at what she’s up to.

Last August, Birchbox co-CEO Hayley Barna decided to walk away from the influential beauty-subscription-box startup that she cofounded in 2010 (she remains on the company’s board). “What we created with Birchbox was truly unique at the time,” she explains. “I loved it, but it turned out the beauty industry is not my lifelong passion. It’s [exploring] innovative business models.” So, in February, Barna signed on as a partner at First Round Capital, the seed-stage VC firm that has invested in companies such as Uber, Warby Parker, and, not coincidentally, Birchbox. (Meanwhile, Barna’s former company has been struggling, enduring two big rounds of layoffs earlier this year and receiving a $15 million injection of funds from current investors in August, reportedly due to cash-flow issues.)

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Hayley Barna

One of Barna’s initial First Round investments is certainly a departure from the makeup-sample universe. She’s working with—and has joined the board of—a travel startup called Collective Hotels & Retreats, which builds pop-up luxury tent resorts in high-end locations such as Colorado’s Aspen and Vail. “I laugh whenever I say glamping, but that’s what it is,” she says. “It’s an atypical venture investment. I’m really excited about it.”

Barna is also eager to dig into opportunities related to women’s health, transportation, and the workplace, among other areas. “For now, I’m fully focused on helping entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground,” she says. Still, you never know. “I’m not secretly sitting on my next business idea, but [starting companies] is part of who I am.”